FBI Raids US Home of Soviet-Born Former Trump Adviser
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has raided and searched the house of Dimitri Simes, who used to be a political advisor to former President Donald Trump and a vocal critic of the administration of President Joe Biden.
According to the Virginia-based newspaper Rappahannock News, which first reported the story, the FBI agents executed a search warrant on the home of Simes, a Russian-born political pundit and author, on Aug. 13.
Simes, whose name was included more than 100 times in the 2019 report by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, told the news outlet that he was out of the country and had not been notified about the search ahead of time. He was unaware he was the focus of any current law enforcement investigation.
“I’m puzzled and concerned,” he said. “I have not seen a warrant. I was not contacted by any law enforcement or anyone else whatsoever.”
For Simes, the raid was “clearly an attempt to intimidate, not only somebody from Russia but just anyone who goes against official policies and particularly against the Deep State”
“I suspect that instead of trying to get me to come to the United States and to interrogate me or even to arrest me, their real purpose is to make sure that I would not come back,” he added.
(Related: Total tyranny: FBI agent admits questioning Americans “every day, all day long” about social media posts.)
The author’s son, Dimitri Simes Jr., described it as “a bandit-like intimidation attempt” by the U.S. government in a statement posted on X.
“The Biden regime is terrified of being called out over Ukraine and Israel,” he wrote. In another post, he added: “Elements of Biden regime are trying to disrupt any possibility for de-escalation with Russia and plunge America into World War III.”
In an email, FBI spokesperson Samantha Shero declined to comment on the raid, except to confirm that it had been authorized by a court.
Simes, who was born in Moscow, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who immigrated to the country in 1973. He served as an informal foreign policy adviser to former President Richard Nixon before leading the media company Center for the National Interest for nearly three decades. He was described by U.S. media as providing “a sympathetic platform for the Russian government in the heart of the D.C. policy establishment,” after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) named him as a foreign policy adviser in 2014.
He was one of the people investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a suspected contact between Trump and the Russian government. The report finalized in 2019, which failed to find any evidence of collusion between Moscow and Trump’s 2016 campaign, also vindicated the political expert, confirming that his activities were normal for how D.C. operates.
Last year, Simes moderated a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. And in June, Simes participated in a closed-door meeting with Putin, the state-owned Russian news agency TASS reported.
Antonov calls out U.S. for “witch-hunt”
Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov slammed the FBI’s actions as part of “a witch-hunt.” He expressed outrage over the apparent increase in aggressive government actions against those deemed to be Russian sympathizers.
The ambassador explained that these attacks come against the backdrop of the U.S. election campaigns amid a growing nationwide crackdown against those who Washington claims are Russian foreign assets working “in violation of foreign agent laws.”
Antonov expressed concern, saying: “We are certainly worried about what is happening.” He criticized Washington for its “double standards in the field of democracy and freedom of speech,” noting that “hundreds of people are declared objectionable simply because they dare to contradict the administration’s policies,” leading to actions such as “home break-ins, searches and seizure of documents.”
The incident has sparked discussions about law enforcement’s role in political affairs. Opinions diverge sharply on whether the FBI’s actions strike at the heart of Democratic freedoms or represent justified steps to maintain security.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Biden administration’s methods argue they are necessary to safeguard national interests. But critics see the raid as inappropriate, claiming it could discourage open discourse about critical global issues.
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